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What is tmuxinator?

skevy/tmuxinator — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2012-09-13

RubyAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

In one sentence

Tmuxinator automates setting up multi-window terminal workspaces from a simple YAML config, built on tmux.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Launches terminal layouts
      Reads YAML config
      Built on tmux
    Tech stack
      Ruby
      tmux
      YAML
    Use cases
      Start dev environment
      Reuse project setups
      Share configs with team
    Audience
      Developers
      DevOps engineers
    Workflow
      Create config
      Run mux command
      List or delete projects

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Launch a full multi-window dev environment (editor, server, logs, database) with one command.

USE CASE 2

Save a reusable YAML config per project so you never manually re-open the same terminal layout.

USE CASE 3

Share version-controlled terminal setups with your whole team.

What is it built with?

RubytmuxYAML

How does it compare?

skevy/tmuxinator100rabhg/masterdetailapp100rabhg/pizzafactroy
LanguageRubyRubyRuby
Last pushed2012-09-132024-02-202025-01-26
MaintenanceDormantDormantStale
Setup difficultyeasymoderatemoderate
Complexity2/52/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperpm founder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Requires tmux installed and a YAML config written before first use.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to install Tmuxinator and create my first project config.
Prompt 2
Write a Tmuxinator YAML config for a Rails project with a server, console, and log-tailing window.
Prompt 3
How do I copy an existing Tmuxinator project as a template for a new one?
Prompt 4
Help me list and delete saved Tmuxinator project configs.

Frequently asked questions

What is tmuxinator?

Tmuxinator automates setting up multi-window terminal workspaces from a simple YAML config, built on tmux.

What language is tmuxinator written in?

Mainly Ruby. The stack also includes Ruby, tmux, YAML.

Is tmuxinator actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2012-09-13).

How hard is tmuxinator to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is tmuxinator for?

Mainly developer.

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